Afro-Iranians (also known as African Iranians) (Persian: ایرانیان آفریقایی‌تبار‎) are people of Black African descent residing in Iran. Most Afro-Iranians are concentrated in Hormozagan, Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan.

Contents

1 History

2 Notable Afro-Iranians

3 See also

4 Further reading

5 References

6 External links

History

The Indian Ocean slave trade was multi-directional and changed over time. To meet the demand for menial labor, black slaves captured by Arab slave traders were sold in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to the Persian Gulf, Egypt, Arabia, India, the Far East, the Indian Ocean islands, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

During the Qajar dynasty, many wealthy households imported Black African women and children as slaves to perform domestic work. This slave labor was drawn exclusively from the Zanj, who were Bantu-speaking peoples that lived along the coast of East Africa in an area roughly comprising modern-day Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. However, Mohammad Shah Qajar, under British pressure, issued a firman suppressing the slave trade in 1848.

Notable Afro-Iranians

Abdolreza Barzegari, footballer.

Ali Firouzi, footballer and coach.

Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, Caliph of Baghdad and son of an Afro-Iranian mother.